French President Francois Hollande this week found himself under scrutiny for his careless use of a racially charged term in his description of the non-ethnic citizens of France. By describing white French men and women as francais de souche, a nativist term used by some on the far-right in France, the unpopular French leader made yet a

Ukraine suffered a stunning defeat this week when separatists in the east of the country finally seized the strategic city of Debaltseve, much to the embarrassment of President Petro Poroshenko. The much-touted ceasefire agreed days before in Minsk, Belarus, did little to stop rebel fighters from pushing out government forces and taking control

Elections originally scheduled for this weekend in Nigeria have been postponed in light of the continuing violence committed by the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram. A new date has been set in six weeks time, giving the Nigerian government and security forces only a tight window to secure the country enough to allow voters to select their nex

The Islamic State demonstrated this week that its violent wrath is not limited to infidels. The terrorist group released a video showing a Jordanian military pilot, Flight Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, being burned alive. The pilot had been captured on Christmas Eve when his plane crashed during a raid on Islamic State targets.
With an eye to

A crowd of over 10,000 angry Germans assembled this week to protest the detrimental impact that Muslim immigrants were having on their country, while denouncing the ruling elites who have permitted this situation to become intolerable. Meanwhile, a dozen people were killed in central Paris on Wednesday when Islamist militants attacked the headqu

Beleaguered Russians rang in the New Year with a special gift from the Kremlin – a cap on the price of their much-beloved vodka. Facing an economy seemingly on the verge of collapse, President Vladimir Putin took steps this past week to ensure that a plummeting ruble would not prevent his country from drowning its sorrows in cheap alcohol.

In the days following the gruesome attacks in Paris on the offices of Charlie Hebdo and on a kosher market, the world has re-evaluated the threat posed to freedom of expression by Islamist extremism. Many are looking to moderate members of the Muslim community to demonstrate that they will not side with brutal killers.
With these pressin

A Burmese woman was executed last week on the streets of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, with video footage of the killing quickly going viral. Although she protested her innocence to the very end, Layla bint Abdul Mutaleb Bassim was beheaded after being convicted of killing her husband’s 6-year-old daughter.
The video shows the executioner,

Ten Russian paratroopers were captured this past week in eastern Ukraine, approximately 15 miles from the border with Russia. The incident gives Kiev further evidence of Moscow’s continuing support of the separatist forces. The arrests occurred on the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met fo

One of Australia’s most-wanted terrorists, Khaled Sharrouf, gained further notoriety this week when he posted on Twitter a photo of his 7-year-old son holding up the severed head of a Syrian soldier. The two are believed to be in northern Syria, where the father is fighting as part of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, known as ISIS, or

It is important to not underestimate the oddness of North Korea.
Last week, with important diplomatic talks days away, Pyongyang launched missiles into the nearby Sea of Japan just to make sure that it was not forgotten. Embarrassingly for North Korean supremo, Kim Jong Un, China’s president was paying a visit to South Korea. In do

Three journalists, including one Australian national, working for the news channel Al Jazeera, were given prison sentences this week by an Egyptian court for allegedly supporting the banned Muslim Brotherhood. The three men face seven years in jail for simply reporting on day-to-day politics in Egypt. No meaningful evidence was provided by prose

The plot revealed this past week involving Qatar’s use of bribes and vote-rigging to “buy” the 2022 World Cup has left the global soccer community dismayed and disappointed. The sporting world was stunned in December 2010 when, against expert recommendations, the tournament was awarded to the tiny Persian Gulf nation, which had

International election results this week leave the Obama administration facing many awkward questions. Rather than revealing voters confident in their futures, the polling, instead, exposes their deep anxieties.
First, Europeans have demonstrated an embarrassing rejection of Brussels and the “European experiment.” The honors

Evo Morales, the Socialist president of Bolivia, made international news this week when he signed a contract to play professional soccer for the local team, Sports Boys. At 54, this is a particularly noteworthy achievement, although Morales will be earning the minimum salary, a mere $200 a month.
Age has not made Morales a timid or reluc